We the people of the United States,
In order to form a more perfect Union,
Establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare, and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity,
Do ordain and establish
This Constitution for
The United States of America.
With these fifty-two words, the Founding Fathers laid out the plans for a new government in the United States. The Constitution was not the first constitution to govern our country. The first constitution to govern our country was called the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation created a very weak central government. Under the Articles, the government had little power to make decisions for the country. They also had no way to pay debts since they were not given the power to tax, they could not regulate money, and they could not add new states and territories to the country. By 1787 the states decided that there needed to be a grand convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead of revising the Articles, they ended up writing a whole new constitution which is still in effect today. Our Constitution is the oldest and shortest constitution in the world today.
For the next several weeks we will explore our Constitution to learn about our government and how we can be informed and effective citizens. Click of the links below to go to the section of the page we are working on.
Governing Principles
The governing principles are the basic rules that determine how our government is supposed to work. For the next couple of days we will take a look at them and see how they work.
Popular Sovereignty
Separation of Powers
Federalism
Judicial Review
Checks and Balances
Limited Government
Rule of Law
The Preamble is the introduction to our Constitution. It sets our the goals and ideas of our government. It also clearly states the principle of popular sovereignty in it's first three word, We the People.I challenge and encourage you to memorize the 52 words of the Preamble.
Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention Set up a government for the United States that consisted of three branches. Article 1 describes the first of these branches the Legislative Branch. The Legislative Branch, often called Congress, is divided into two houses or parts called the House of Representatives and the Senate. This branch of government has been given all legislative powers which means they have the power to make the laws of the United States. Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C.
The House of Representatives
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 1 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words. Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 931-932 will be very helpful.
How often are the members of the House of Representatives elected?
How old does a person have to be to be a member of the U. S. House of Representatives?
How long does a person have to be a U. S. citizen in order to serve in the U. S. House of Representatives?
Where must a member of the U. S. House of Representatives live?
How is the number of Representatives a state has determined?
What is an enumeration and how often is it to be taken?
What is the least number of representatives a state can have?
What is the total number of representatives in the U. S. House of Representatives today?
If a U. S. Representative leaves office before his/her term is up how is the vacancy filled?
Who chooses the officers of the U. S. House of Representatives?
The House of Representatives has the “sole power of impeachment.” What does that mean?
How many U. S. Representatives does the State of Maine have?
Who are they?
The Senate
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 1 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words. Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 931-932 will be very helpful.
How many senators does each state have?
Who are the senators from Maine?
What amendment changed the way senators are elected?
How long is the term of a senator?
What fraction of the U. S. Senate is up for election every two years?
How are vacancies filled in the U. S. Senate?
How old does a person have to be to serve in the U. S. Senate?
How long does a person have to be a U. S. citizen in order to serve in the U. S. Senate?
Where do U. S. Senators have to live?
Who serves as the President of the Senate?
When can the President of the Senate vote?
What is the job of the president pro tempore?
Who is currently the president pro tempore of the Senate?
What power does the U. S. Senate have that no other part of our government can do?
When the President of the United States is tried, who presides?
What is required for a conviction in an impeachment trial?
Duties/Responsibilities Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 1 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words.Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 933-937 will be very helpful.
Section 4: Elections and Meetings 1. How often does Congress have to meet? 2. The original opening day for the meeting of Congress was on the first Monday in December. The Twentieth Amendment changed the opening day to what?
Section 5: Rules for Conduct of Business 3. What is a quorum? 4. How many members of a house of Congress must vote to expel a member? 5. What is the written record of the meetings of the Congress called? 6. How often is the written record of the meetings of Congress published? 7. What are the rules for adjournment?
Section 6: Privileges and Restrictions 8. From where does the pay for U. S. Representatives and Senators come? 9. For what can members of the Congress not be arrested while in session? 10. Can a member of Congress hold another federal office during their term?
Section 7: Law-Making Process 11. What is revenue? 12. If a bill that contains a tax it must come from what part of Congress? 13. What is a bill? 14. Where does a bill that passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate go? 15. How does a bill become a law without the President’s signature? 16. What does veto mean? 17. What happens if the President vetoes a bill? 18. What happens to a bill if it is sent to the President and it is not returned to Congress or signed within ten days, excluding Sundays? 19. How does the President make a pocket veto? 20.What does it take for Congress to over-ride a veto of the President?
Section 8: Powers Delegated to Congress
21. What are duties, imposts, and excises? 22. What part does Congress play when the country goes to war?
Section 9: Powers Denied to the Federal Government 23. From what does a writ of habeas corpus protect us? 24. What is a bill of attainder? 25. What is an ex post facto law?
Section 10: Powers Denied to the States 26. When can a state declare war?
Article 2 of the Constitution set up a branch of government that was left out of the Articles of Confederation because they were afraid that an executive branch would become too powerful and become like the king that they had fought to overthrow. The center of the Executive Branch is White House. It serves as both the office of the executive branch and the home of the President of the United States. All Presidents except George Washington have called the White House home.
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 2 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words.Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 937-939 will be very helpful.
1. Who is the head of the Executive Branch? 2. How long is the term for the President of the United States? 3. How many electors does each state have? 4. How many electors does the State of Maine have? 5. You will notice that in your textbook all of Section 1, paragraph 3 is crossed out in blue. This means it was changed by an amendment. What caused the change to be made? 6. What amendment changed Section 1, paragraph 3? 7. Congress has the power to determine the date of choosing electors. According to the law passed in 1792 what is the date on which electors are chosen? 8. When do the electors meet to cast their votes? 9. How long must a person be a United States citizen in order to serve as President? 10. How old does a person have to be to serve as President of the United States? 11. How long does a person have to be a resident within the United States in order to serve as President of the United States? 12. What does succession mean? 13. If the President is unable to carry out the duties of the office of President, who takes over? 14. Can the President of the United States get a pay raise? 15. Who usually administers the Oath of Office to the new President? 16. What powers does the President have over the armed services? 17. When would the President be the head of the state militia, national guard? 18. he President has the power to grant reprieves and pardons. What are these? 19. What has to happen for a treaty or nomination of the President to take effect? 20. How often does the President have to give Congress a report on the state of the Union? 21. When is the State of the Union usually given? 22. What things could get the President or the Vice-President removed from office?
The Cabinet
Article 2, Section 2 allowed that President to create a group of advisers called the Cabinet. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive department. The heads of these departments are called Secretaries. In your OneNote under the Constitution section on the Article 2 page, create a table about the Cabinet. Your table will need contain information about all 15 of the Executive Departments. The information you will need for each department is: Department Name, Date Established, Current Secretary, Brief Job Description. Two good sites for your information are the White House and Ben's Guide to U.S. Government. You will probably need to use both sites to complete the chart. A sample table is created below.
Article 3 of our Constitution sets up the Judicial Branch of our government. The Founding Fathers set up one Supreme Court and let the Congress to set up other courts as they see it necessary. The Supreme Court is the highest court in our country.
Copy the following questions into your History OneNote. Answer each in complete sentences in your own words. Use pages 939 and 940 to help find the answers. You will need to use both the white and tan sections of text. To find some of the answers you will need to do some research.
Answer the following questions about the Judicial Branch of our government. Use pages 939 and 940 to find the information needed. 1. What is judicial power? 2. What is the main job of the Judicial Branch? 3. What part of the government has the power to establish inferior courts? 4. What is an inferior court? 5. How many district and circuit courts, courts of appeal, have been established as of today? 6. How many people serve on the Supreme Court? 7. What are they called? 8. How long do judges hold their office? 9. How much is the Chief Justice of the United States paid per year? 10. How much is an Associate Justice of the United States paid per year? 11. What is original jurisdiction? 12. What is an appellate court? 13. What court case established the right to decide if a law is constitutional? 14. In what cases does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction? 15. What is the only trial that does not have to be by jury? 16. What is treason? 17. In what two ways could a person be found guilty of treason? 18. What part of our government sets the punishment for treason?
Supreme Court Chart
On the Article 3 page of your OneNote, create a chart of the Justices of the Supreme Court. You will need to provide the following information for each Justice. Use the Supreme Court site to find the information.
Articles 1-3 of the Constitution established the three branches of our government. The remaining four articles provided a framework for our country to work. Article 4 set the pattern of how the states would get along and work together, Article 5 established the process of amending or changing the Constitution, Article 6 established the supremacy of the national government, and Article 7 told how the Constitution could be ratified.
Answer each of the following questions in complete sentence and in your own words. Uses pages 940 -942 to find the information.
1. Give an example of an official act that states must recognize from other states.
2. What is extradition? 3. When can a governor refuse to return a suspected criminal to a state when asked? 4. What amendment replaced Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3? 5. What has to happen if two state want to join together to form one state? 6. What are the two ways that an amendment to the Constitution can be proposed? 7. What does ratified mean? 8. What are the two ways an amendment to the Constitution can be ratified? 9. What are the highest laws in the United States? 10. State and federal officeholders must take an oath to do what? 11. What cannot be used as a qualification to hold state or federal office? 12. How many states were required to ratify the Constitution?
The Amendments
After the Constitutional Convention the major problem that some of the delegates and state had with the new Constitution was that it did not contain a Bill of Rights. They were afraid the government would become too powerful and ignore the rights of individuals. They did not want this to happen so in 1791 the first ten amendment were added to the Constitution. These are called the Bill of Rights. In the 224 years since 1791, the Constitution has only been changed 17 more times for a total of 27 amendments.
Below you will find a scavenger hunt of the amendments. Find the amendment that each of the following is referring to.
1. This amendment allowed women the right to vote. 2. This is the only amendment to be repealed. 3. Which amendment repealed another one? 4. This amendment took more than 200 years to be ratified. 5. This amendment forbids cruel and unusual punishment. 6. This amendment lowered the voting age to 18. 7. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in what year? 8. This amendment gave residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote in Presidential elections. In what year? 9. This amendment gives me the right to remain silent. 10. This amendment allows the government to tax your income. 11. This amendment allowed former slaves to vote. 12. This amendment limited the number of terms a President can serve. 13. This amendment made it illegal to charge a tax for the right of voting. 14. This amendment gives the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. 15. This amendment made slavery illegal in the United States. 16. This amendment requires the government to get a warrant, or written court order to search a person’s house.
Top of Page Final Project Congratulations! You have been chosen by the State Department to create a way to teach new immigrants to the United States about our Constitution. Your creation can be in any form that you choose. It can be a written document or handbook or some sort of visual presentation. The way that you present the information is not as important as the information you present. Whatever you create must be a clear, concise explanation of our Constitution. It must show a complete understanding of the Constitution. You will be allowed to work with one other person but there must be clear evidence that both members of the team worked equally on the project. Below you will find a list of required items that must be included. GOOD LUCK!
1. A brief overview of the development of our Constitution. (History of the Constitution) 2. Guiding Principles of the Constitution
Popular Sovereignty
Separation of Powers
Federalism
Rule of Law
Checks and Balances
Limited Government
3. A complete explanation of all of the branches of our government including qualifications, responsibilities, length of term, current leaders, for Representatives and Senators, use those from the state of Maine as examples, and the place where they meet. 4. Explain the legislative process. (How a bill becomes a law) 5. Explain how the Constitution can be amended. 6. Explain the Bill of Rights.
In order to form a more perfect Union,
Establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare, and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity,
Do ordain and establish
This Constitution for
The United States of America.
With these fifty-two words, the Founding Fathers laid out the plans for a new government in the United States. The Constitution was not the first constitution to govern our country. The first constitution to govern our country was called the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation created a very weak central government. Under the Articles, the government had little power to make decisions for the country. They also had no way to pay debts since they were not given the power to tax, they could not regulate money, and they could not add new states and territories to the country. By 1787 the states decided that there needed to be a grand convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead of revising the Articles, they ended up writing a whole new constitution which is still in effect today. Our Constitution is the oldest and shortest constitution in the world today.
For the next several weeks we will explore our Constitution to learn about our government and how we can be informed and effective citizens.
Click of the links below to go to the section of the page we are working on.
Governing PrinciplesArticle 1Article 2Article 3Articles 4-7AmendmentsFinal Project
Governing Principles
The governing principles are the basic rules that determine how our government is supposed to work. For the next couple of days we will take a look at them and see how they work.
Popular Sovereignty
Separation of Powers
Federalism
Judicial Review
Checks and Balances
Limited Government
Rule of Law
The Preamble
The Preamble is the introduction to our Constitution. It sets our the goals and ideas of our government. It also clearly states the principle of popular sovereignty in it's first three word, We the People.I challenge and encourage you to memorize the 52 words of the Preamble.
Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention Set up a government for the United States that consisted of three branches. Article 1 describes the first of these branches the Legislative Branch. The Legislative Branch, often called Congress, is divided into two houses or parts called the House of Representatives and the Senate. This branch of government has been given all legislative powers which means they have the power to make the laws of the United States. Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C.The House of Representatives
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 1 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words. Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 931-932 will be very helpful.The Senate
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 1 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words. Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 931-932 will be very helpful.Duties/Responsibilities
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 1 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words.Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 933-937 will be very helpful.
Section 4: Elections and Meetings
1. How often does Congress have to meet?
2. The original opening day for the meeting of Congress was on the first Monday in December. The Twentieth Amendment changed the opening day to what?
Section 5: Rules for Conduct of Business
3. What is a quorum?
4. How many members of a house of Congress must vote to expel a member?
5. What is the written record of the meetings of the Congress called?
6. How often is the written record of the meetings of Congress published?
7. What are the rules for adjournment?
Section 6: Privileges and Restrictions
8. From where does the pay for U. S. Representatives and Senators come?
9. For what can members of the Congress not be arrested while in session?
10. Can a member of Congress hold another federal office during their term?
Section 7: Law-Making Process
11. What is revenue?
12. If a bill that contains a tax it must come from what part of Congress?
13. What is a bill?
14. Where does a bill that passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate go?
15. How does a bill become a law without the President’s signature?
16. What does veto mean?
17. What happens if the President vetoes a bill?
18. What happens to a bill if it is sent to the President and it is not returned to Congress or signed within ten days, excluding Sundays?
19. How does the President make a pocket veto?
20.What does it take for Congress to over-ride a veto of the President?
Section 8: Powers Delegated to Congress
21. What are duties, imposts, and excises?
22. What part does Congress play when the country goes to war?
Section 9: Powers Denied to the Federal Government
23. From what does a writ of habeas corpus protect us?
24. What is a bill of attainder?
25. What is an ex post facto law?
Section 10: Powers Denied to the States
26. When can a state declare war?
Top of Page
Article 2 of the Constitution set up a branch of government that was left out of the Articles of Confederation because they were afraid that an executive branch would become too powerful and become like the king that they had fought to overthrow. The center of the Executive Branch is White House. It serves as both the office of the executive branch and the home of the President of the United States. All Presidents except George Washington have called the White House home.
Copy and paste the following terms and questions into your OneNote on the Article 2 page. Write a definition for each term and answer each question in complete sentences using your own words.Using the tan section of your textbook, The American Nation, pages 937-939 will be very helpful.
1. Who is the head of the Executive Branch?
2. How long is the term for the President of the United States?
3. How many electors does each state have?
4. How many electors does the State of Maine have?
5. You will notice that in your textbook all of Section 1, paragraph 3 is crossed out in blue. This means it was changed by an amendment. What caused the change to be made?
6. What amendment changed Section 1, paragraph 3?
7. Congress has the power to determine the date of choosing electors. According to the law passed in 1792 what is the date on which electors are chosen?
8. When do the electors meet to cast their votes?
9. How long must a person be a United States citizen in order to serve as President?
10. How old does a person have to be to serve as President of the United States?
11. How long does a person have to be a resident within the United States in order to serve as President of the United States?
12. What does succession mean?
13. If the President is unable to carry out the duties of the office of President, who takes over?
14. Can the President of the United States get a pay raise?
15. Who usually administers the Oath of Office to the new President?
16. What powers does the President have over the armed services?
17. When would the President be the head of the state militia, national guard?
18. he President has the power to grant reprieves and pardons. What are these?
19. What has to happen for a treaty or nomination of the President to take effect?
20. How often does the President have to give Congress a report on the state of the Union?
21. When is the State of the Union usually given?
22. What things could get the President or the Vice-President removed from office?
The Cabinet
Article 2, Section 2 allowed that President to create a group of advisers called the Cabinet. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive department. The heads of these departments are called Secretaries. In your OneNote under the Constitution section on the Article 2 page, create a table about the Cabinet. Your table will need contain information about all 15 of the Executive Departments. The information you will need for each department is: Department Name, Date Established, Current Secretary, Brief Job Description. Two good sites for your information are the White House and Ben's Guide to U.S. Government. You will probably need to use both sites to complete the chart. A sample table is created below.Top of Page
Article 3 - The Judicial Branch
Article 3 of our Constitution sets up the Judicial Branch of our government. The Founding Fathers set up one Supreme Court and let the Congress to set up other courts as they see it necessary. The Supreme Court is the highest court in our country.Copy the following questions into your History OneNote. Answer each in complete sentences in your own words. Use pages 939 and 940 to help find the answers. You will need to use both the white and tan sections of text. To find some of the answers you will need to do some research.
Answer the following questions about the Judicial Branch of our government. Use pages 939 and 940 to find the information needed.
1. What is judicial power?
2. What is the main job of the Judicial Branch?
3. What part of the government has the power to establish inferior courts?
4. What is an inferior court?
5. How many district and circuit courts, courts of appeal, have been established as of today?
6. How many people serve on the Supreme Court?
7. What are they called?
8. How long do judges hold their office?
9. How much is the Chief Justice of the United States paid per year?
10. How much is an Associate Justice of the United States paid per year?
11. What is original jurisdiction?
12. What is an appellate court?
13. What court case established the right to decide if a law is constitutional?
14. In what cases does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction?
15. What is the only trial that does not have to be by jury?
16. What is treason?
17. In what two ways could a person be found guilty of treason?
18. What part of our government sets the punishment for treason?
Supreme Court Chart
On the Article 3 page of your OneNote, create a chart of the Justices of the Supreme Court. You will need to provide the following information for each Justice. Use the Supreme Court site to find the information.Top of Page
Articles 4 - 7
Articles 1-3 of the Constitution established the three branches of our government. The remaining four articles provided a framework for our country to work. Article 4 set the pattern of how the states would get along and work together, Article 5 established the process of amending or changing the Constitution, Article 6 established the supremacy of the national government, and Article 7 told how the Constitution could be ratified.Answer each of the following questions in complete sentence and in your own words. Uses pages 940 -942 to find the information.
1. Give an example of an official act that states must recognize from other states.
2. What is extradition?
3. When can a governor refuse to return a suspected criminal to a state when asked?
4. What amendment replaced Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3?
5. What has to happen if two state want to join together to form one state?
6. What are the two ways that an amendment to the Constitution can be proposed?
7. What does ratified mean?
8. What are the two ways an amendment to the Constitution can be ratified?
9. What are the highest laws in the United States?
10. State and federal officeholders must take an oath to do what?
11. What cannot be used as a qualification to hold state or federal office?
12. How many states were required to ratify the Constitution?
The Amendments
After the Constitutional Convention the major problem that some of the delegates and state had with the new Constitution was that it did not contain a Bill of Rights. They were afraid the government would become too powerful and ignore the rights of individuals. They did not want this to happen so in 1791 the first ten amendment were added to the Constitution. These are called the Bill of Rights. In the 224 years since 1791, the Constitution has only been changed 17 more times for a total of 27 amendments.Below you will find a scavenger hunt of the amendments. Find the amendment that each of the following is referring to.
1. This amendment allowed women the right to vote.
2. This is the only amendment to be repealed.
3. Which amendment repealed another one?
4. This amendment took more than 200 years to be ratified.
5. This amendment forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
6. This amendment lowered the voting age to 18.
7. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in what year?
8. This amendment gave residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote in Presidential elections. In what year?
9. This amendment gives me the right to remain silent.
10. This amendment allows the government to tax your income.
11. This amendment allowed former slaves to vote.
12. This amendment limited the number of terms a President can serve.
13. This amendment made it illegal to charge a tax for the right of voting.
14. This amendment gives the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
15. This amendment made slavery illegal in the United States.
16. This amendment requires the government to get a warrant, or written court order to search a person’s house.
Top of Page
Final Project
Congratulations! You have been chosen by the State Department to create a way to teach new immigrants to the United States about our Constitution. Your creation can be in any form that you choose. It can be a written document or handbook or some sort of visual presentation. The way that you present the information is not as important as the information you present. Whatever you create must be a clear, concise explanation of our Constitution. It must show a complete understanding of the Constitution. You will be allowed to work with one other person but there must be clear evidence that both members of the team worked equally on the project. Below you will find a list of required items that must be included. GOOD LUCK!
1. A brief overview of the development of our Constitution. (History of the Constitution)
2. Guiding Principles of the Constitution
- Popular Sovereignty
- Separation of Powers
- Federalism
- Rule of Law
- Checks and Balances
- Limited Government
3. A complete explanation of all of the branches of our government including qualifications, responsibilities, length of term, current leaders, for Representatives and Senators, use those from the state of Maine as examples, and the place where they meet.4. Explain the legislative process. (How a bill becomes a law)
5. Explain how the Constitution can be amended.
6. Explain the Bill of Rights.
Top of Page